Yoga Nidra, which literally means "sleep of the yogis", is used to prepare both mentally and physically prior to seeking deeper levels of consciousness and awareness through meditation. However Yoga Nidra is also regularly practiced on its own as a daily relaxation technique. Adherents claim that half an hour of Yoga Nidra can replace up to three hours of normal sleep, although its regular use as a sleep substitute is not recommended as the body and mind still ...

Including:

• Yoga Nidra - History
• Yoga Nidra - External link

Read more here: » Yoga Nidra: Encyclopedia - Yoga Nidra

yoga-nidra

the mystic slumber of Lord Vishnu.

(See also: yoga-nidra, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga nidra:

a deep relaxation technique also called 'yogic sleep' in which mind and body is at complete rest but with complete awareness.

(See also: Yoga nidra, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Meditation is an intensely personal and spiritual experience. The desired purpose of each meditation technique is to channel our awareness into a more positive direction by totally transforming one's state of mind. To meditate is to turn inwards, to concentrate on the inner self.
There are many forms of meditation, such as chakra meditation, yantra meditation, vipassana meditation and mantra meditation. While the forms of meditation vary, they all use concentration techniques, which help us to becoming a witness of our thoughts. The idea is that when the mind is calm, like a lake without any ripples, we experience total peace and empowerment.

Read more here: » Meditation: What is meditation?

Why should we understand how the universe was created? Because it gives us a clearer understanding of where we have come from, where we are going, who and what we are, and what our purpose is here. Once you consider that there is a purpose to life, the search for life's origins may very well lead you into a different direction than simply trying to find an explanation for a mechanical or chemical process of creation. This article by Stephen Knapp takes different approach to the origin of the universe, the Vedic approach.

Read more here: » Vedic Science: Understanding The Creation Of The Universe

Krishnaraj Dasaji will introduce you to some of the basic principles of Samskara Shuddi and also share some of his personal experiences from his spiritual path

Read more here: » Enlightenment: Krishnaraj Dasaji about Samskarashuddhi

The Bihar School of Yoga is an entity founded by Swami Satyananda Saraswati in 1964 and is located in Munger (Bihar, India). It publishes a large range of books on behalf of Satyananda Yoga. See also. Bihar Yoga Bharati Paramahamsa Satyananda Swami Niranjanananda Swami Sivananda Yoga Nidra ...

Read more here: » Bihar School of Yoga: Encyclopedia - Bihar School of Yoga

Paramyogeshwar Sri Devpuriji developed Yoga Nidra and passed it on to Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji and it was taught to his disciples since 1880. On his journeys to the Himalayas, Sri Devpuriji met, among others, Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and Swami Muktananda, who is well known in Europe and conveyed the technique of Yoga Nidra to several Yogis and Swamis, such as Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Swami Janakananda. Swami Satyananda developed the modern form of Yoga Nidra from the ancient tantric practice of nyasa meditation, which u ...

See also:

Yoga Nidra, Yoga Nidra - History, Yoga Nidra - External link

Read more here: » Yoga Nidra: Encyclopedia II - Yoga Nidra - History

Ananta is Sanskrit for infinity. It is equated with the Supreme Brahman - infinitely powerful and so infinitely free. It is bigger than any quantity that can be imagined; it is bigger than any finite number. Infinity is one of the fundamental axioms upon which contemporary mathematics is based.

Sanskrit grammar and interpretation in ancient India were closely linked to the handling of high value numbers. Studies relating to poetry and metrics initiated sastragnaas or scientists to both arithmetic and grammar. Grammarians were just as competent at calculations as professional mathematicians. Indian sastragnaas or scientists, philosophers, astronomers and cosmographers - in order to develop their arithmetical, metaphysical and cosmological speculations concerning ever higher numbers - became at once mathematicians, grammarians and poets.

(See also: Infinity, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

What is a human being’s dharma?

Every entity and idea has its own distinct characteristic which differentiates it from another. Water has the property of making things wet. As long as it has this property, people will call it water. Similarly, as long as fire has the property of burning things, it will be called fire. When it loses this property, it will no longer be called fire.

Human beings also have a dharma, which marks them as human. The corporeal body is not the limit of our consciousness.

(See also: Bhagavata Dharma, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Meditation Experiences by Sarasvati Buhrman PhD - Part I

Sometime after 350 B.C. a great yogi sage wrote the "Yoga Sutra". This brief translation should wet your appetite. This describes the transformation of mind that will unfold over a course of sadhana (spiritual practice), focusing on the relationship between the mind and the object of meditation.

Read more here: » Meditation: Meditation Experiences According to the Ashtanga Yoga Tradition with Commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutra

Brahmacharya is very very essential Even in dreams you must be free from lustful thoughts. It requires long practice and careful watch over the mind and Indriyas. Foolish people hastily jump up to the higher courses in Yoga in vain without having this important item which is very useful for spiritual Sadhana.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yoga: Hints On Yoga

In biological psychology, awareness describes an animal's perception and cognitive reaction to a condition or event. Awareness does not necessarily imply understanding. Awareness is a relative concept. An animal may be partially aware, may be subconsciously aware or may be acutely aware of an event. Awareness may be focused on an internal state, such as a visceral feeling, or on external events by way of sensory perception. Awareness provides the raw material from which animals develop qua ...

Read more here: » Awareness: Encyclopedia - Awareness

Located near Munger, in India's Bihar State, Bihar Yoga Bharati (BYB) is a yoga institute dedicated to the study of yoga in a gurukul environment. Swami Sivananda first had the vision of a yoga institute when he established the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy in Rishikesh. This inspiration was carried forward by Swami Satyananda, who established Bihar School of Yoga in 1963, followed by the Ganga Darshan complex in Munger. Swami Niranjanananda, with the blessings of his predecessors, founded Bihar Yoga Bharati in 1994 to preserve and regenerate the total scope of yogic science by combining aca ...

Read more here: » Bihar Yoga Bharati: Encyclopedia - Bihar Yoga Bharati

Self-awareness is the ability to perceive one's own existence, including one's own traits, feelings and behaviours. In an epistemological sense, self-awareness is a personal understanding of the very core of one's own identity. It is the basis for many other human traits, such as accountability and consciousness, and as such is often the subject of debate among philosophers. Self-awareness can be perceived as a trait that people possess to varying degrees beyond the most basic sentience that defines human awareness. This trait is one ...

Including:

• Self-awareness - Self-awareness for computer programs and robots
• Self-awareness - Self-awareness in theater
• Self-awareness - Relationship of theater to self-awareness

Read more here: » Self-awareness: Encyclopedia - Self-awareness

Meditation like yoga originated in Vedic Hinduism many centuries ago, it was much later adopted into a wide variety of practices of religious and non-religious formats which emphasize mental activity or quiesscence. The English word comes from the Latin meditatio, which originally indicated every type of physical or intellectual exercise, but which later could perhaps be better translated as "contemplation." This usage is found in Christian spirituality, for example, when one "meditates" on the sufferings of Christ; as w ...

Including:

• Meditation - Overview
• Meditation - Types of meditation
• Meditation - Meditation in context
• Meditation - Physical postures
• Meditation - Frequency and duration
• Meditation - Purposes and effects of meditation
• Meditation - Metta meditation: the practice of loving-kindness
• Meditation - Health applications and clinical studies of meditation
• Meditation - Meditation and the brain
• Meditation - Meditation and EEG's
• Meditation - Adverse effects
• Meditation - Meditation and drugs

Read more here: » Meditation: Encyclopedia - Meditation

Subtle bodies Causal plane: Causal body Mental plane: Mental body Astral plane: body, projection Etheric plane: Etheric body Physical plane: Physical body The 7 Worlds & the 7 Cosmic Planes The Seven-fold constitution of Man The Ten-fold constitution of Man Cosmology Sufi cosmology Tanazzulut Ray of Creation The Laws Three Centres Five ...

Including:

• Astral projection - Schools of Thought
• Astral projection - Mystical Model
• Astral projection - Phasing Model
• Astral projection - Other kinds of projection
• Astral projection - Real time projection
• Astral projection - Virtual reality projection
• Astral projection - Remote viewing
• Astral projection - Research
• Astral projection - Astral projection and the Bible
• Astral projection - Major proponents

Read more here: » Astral projection: Encyclopedia - Astral projection

Yoga in Daily Life by Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda is a comprehensive system of Yoga with a holistic approach to health, like Ayurveda. The main goal of the Yoga in Daily Life system is to attain and maintain physical health, mental health, social health, spiritual health and eventually achieve Self Realization. Based on the authentic Yoga tradition Yoga in Daily Life contains the pure essence of the original Yoga teachings and was developed specifical ...

Including:

• Yoga in Daily Life - Basic teachings
• Yoga in Daily Life - External link

Read more here: » Yoga in Daily Life: Encyclopedia - Yoga in Daily Life

Arhatic Yoga is a form of Yoga, developed and taught by Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, that synthesizes in a single discipline all the other paths of yoga. The goal of AY is the achievement of "Arhatship", or "Arhat" status. A good definition is the following: "The Arhat is the Perfected One who has overcome The Three Poisons of Desire, Hatred and Ignorance. At the end of the p ...

Read more here: » Arhatic Yoga: Encyclopedia - Arhatic Yoga

Paschimottanasana literally translated as "intense stretch of the west". A yoga position (or asana) where one sits on the floor with legs flat on the floor, straight ahead. Put your hands flat on the floor and lean slightly forward without bending your knees. ...

Read more here: » Paschimottanasana: Encyclopedia - Paschimottanasana